Author Archive: didonatope

Kings Dominion fans, the wait is over. The RMC re-do of Hurler has finally been announced. It will be named Twisted Timbers, and it’s scheduled to open in 2018. The story of the ride goes as followed. Located next to the park’s Candy Apple Grove, this coaster takes place in the once-thriving Hanover Hill Orchard, named after the park’s location in Hanover County. One beautiful day, half of the orchard was mysteriously destroyed by an unknown force that shook the ground, turned over tractors and shattered glass. Now this land of local legend is open to the public for one wild ride.

It will be 111 feet tall, it will be 54 miles per hour, it will have 20 airtime moments, and it will have three inversions. It will also feature a massive barrel roll drop similar to Kentucky Kingdom’s storm chaser.

Much like last year’s Mystic Timbers at Kings Island, the trains on this coaster will be modeled after vintage cars, which will add a classy touch to this coaster

But that’s not all the park announced. Kings Dominion will also be receiving Winterfest, a Christmas event that will turn the park into an all-out winter wonderland of lights, ornaments, cookies Christmas carolers, an ice skating rink and old Saint Nick himself.

Overall, 2018 is going to be an incredible year for Kings Dominion, but there’s even more amazing announcements to come today, so stay tuned.

Hersheypark recently announced that they would be adding not one, but two amazing water park additions in 2018. Both of these additions will be manufactured by Proslides.

First we have Breakers Edge, which is a hydro-magnetic water coaster. This attraction will have several propelled saucer turns.

Next we have Whitecap Racer. This is set to become the longest mat racer in the world when it opens.

Surprisingly, they won’t be taking down their flume ride to put these attractions in. Instead, these attractions will be built right next to their wave pool and over the lazy river. It looks like Tidal Force is staying right where it is.

What’s interesting about this announcement is that Hersheypark referred to it as their fourteenth coaster. Though they never said it was a “roller coaster”, just a “coaster” and it is a water coaster, so why not? Either way, these look like absolutely amazing additions.

Is Japan about to get an RMC hybrid coaster? Let’s take a look at the newest rumor to hit the web.

For six years, the acclaimed Rocky Mountain Construction company has been taking aging wooden coasters and remaking them into A-list thrill rides with their trademark I-Box track. So far though, the company has only done this to wooden coasters in North America. They’ve built a ground up wooden coaster in Sweden, but they have yet to give the so-called Iron Horse treatment to any intercontinental wooden coasters. However, according to a new rumor from Screamscape, that’s all about to change.

According to Screamscape’s sources, the White Cyclone wooden roller coaster at Nagashima Spaland is rumored to be getting the treatment next year. This ride is an Intamin wooden coaster that first opened in 1994. It is currently the seventh-tallest wooden roller coaster in the world and the longest wooden coaster outside of the United States. Unfortunately, several enthusiasts, including coaster veteran Sean Flaharty have criticized this ride for its extreme roughness. In this case, an RMC treatment would certainly make this a smoother and much more enjoyable ride experience, but how accurate is this rumor.

While Screamscape is often hit or miss with their rumors, there are a couple of reasons why this one is more plausible. First of all, Nagashima is already home to an S&S Freespin named Arashi, which RMC of course did the track for. Second of all, it has been wildly reported that RMC has seven projects coming out next year, including one in Japan. Could the company be heading overseas once again to give White Cyclone the i-box treatment? Right now, all signs point to yes. Of course, this would be another massive project for a company with already a lot going on, but considering they just opened up a massive new factory to keep up with demands last year, it’s clear that they’ll deliver the goods once again.

In a surprise announcement today Universal Studios said on their official blog that the iconic Dragon Challenge roller coasters will close for good on September 5th. Well this has been predicted for quite some time it is still undoubtedly came as a shock for fans of this attraction. While the rumor of Dragon Challenge’s closure has been buzzing around for a while, not many people expected the closure to be announced this soon. However, considering that fellow Orlando resort Disney World announced several major attractions just weeks ago, it’s clear that Universal wants to one-up the competition.

Originally opening in 1999 as Dueling Dragons, this ride experience was quite innovative for its time. It featured two B&M inverts named Fire and Ice with awesome dragon-shaped trains going head to head. However, in 2011, the park stopped dueling these coasters after several instances of park guest being hit with flying objects from the other train. The incident that sealed this rights fate occurred when a fifty-two-year-old part guess lost his eyeball after being hit in the face with an unknown object. Comments made by the law firm representing the man implied that it was a penny. Naturally, if something as small as a penny could cost someone an eye, these coasters were deemed too much of a liability to keep dueling.

Dueling Dragons at Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure

In the years following this incident, Universal installed metal detectors in the queue line. While lawyers said that this was a step in the right direction, it’s clear that it wasn’t enough to have the dragons duel again. So after the removal of such a major attraction, what will replace it now?

Well, while the park will be losing two coasters, it’s at least going to gain another one. Universal confirmed earlier today that Dragon challenges replacement would be quote ” one of the most highly-themed coaster experiences we’ve created. It will combine a new level of storytelling with an action-packed adventure…and a few surprises along the way.” Universal didn’t give many details about what kind of coaster it would be, but a popular rumor going around is a Mack Powered coaster. Something like Arthur at Europa Park. This is a family coaster that lends itself to heavy theming, which fits the few details given on Universal’s blog.

I feel a rumor going around it’s a Mack powered coaster something like Arthur at Europa Park. This is a family coaster that lends itself to heavy theming which fits the few details given Universal’s blog. In addition, it’s rumored that the ride will be theme to the Forbidden Forest. Either way, Universal implied that it would be fun for the whole family. The idea of taking two major thrill rides like Dragon Challenge and replacing them with the family ride is a bit odd, and it’s always unfortunate to see a coaster bite the dust. At the same time though, we could be in for something really special. Escape from Gringotts and Forbidden Journey are fantastic, and despite universal’s recent reliance on screen-based motion simulators there’s always room for innovation.

Big news out of Georgia. Six Flags Over Georgia announced this morning that the Georgia Cyclone will be closing for good on July 30th. However, rather than tearing it down, Six Flags may be looking to give this ride a certain makeover instead…

Originally manufactured by the Dinn Corporation, this wooden coaster first opened in 1990. It is a mirror image of the famous Coney Island Cyclone in Brooklyn, New York, but unlike that coaster, this one hasn’t exactly aged well. That’s why Rocky Mountain Construction installed topper track to 30% of the ride’s layout in 2012 to make for a better ride experience. However, it’s clear that Six Flags is interested in replacing it with something bigger and better.

Earlier this year, construction markers were found on the coaster’s footers, leading many to speculate the ride’s future. Considering Six Flags’ recent additions over the years, it’s almost certain that this ride is about to get the RMC I-Box treatment. Ever since the New Texas Giant opened in 2011, Six Flags has given the Iron Horse treatment to six different roller coasters, and pretty much made Rocky Mountain Construction the industry giant it is today. The Georgia Cyclone could very well be the next A-list attraction to come to the Six Flags chain.

At this point, an RMC Georgia Cyclone is pretty much confirmed, there are still a few unanswered questions regarding it. First of all, what will it be named and themed to? Although Six Flags has the habit of re-using ride names like Goliath and The Joker, Six Flags Over Georgia already has rides with these names. One is a B&M Hyper named Goliath, and the other is a Larson Superloop named Joker: Chaos Coaster. So what will this ride be named? Well it’s location in the park is completely opposite to the Gotham City area, so even if they didn’t have a ride named the Joker, it wouldn’t really make sense to put it here. In fact, the area of the park that the Georgia Cyclone is in doesn’t really have a theme.

Back in 2015, the old Cyclone roller coaster at Six Flags New England was re-named Wicked Cyclone when it got the hybrid treatment. Therefore, I’m going to make a pretty bold prediction and guess that this new ride will be named Twisted Cyclone. This name would be especially fitting if this ends up being one of Six Flags’ record breaking attractions for 2018. All this ride needs is four inversions to have the most out of every hybrid coaster, so a name like Twisted Cyclone would certainly be fitting. Whether or not this ends up being the case is still unknown, but once Six Flags makes their announcements in September, we’ll all find out.

While Miami is more known for its beaches than its thrill rides, that’s all about to change in 2020. The upcoming Skyrise Miami entertainment center is set to feature SkyDrop: the world’s tallest and fastest drop tower. It will be a massive 540 feet tall and have a top speed of 95 miles per hour. This will make it 125 feet taller and five miles per hour faster than the current record-holder Zumanjaro at Six Flags Great Adventure. Interestingly enough, the project’s official website features footage of both Zumanjaro and Lex Luthor Drop of Doom, hinting that this tower will also be built by Intamin.

SkyDrop itself will be on the back of the building and will overlook the Atlantic ocean. It is sure to be one of the best views on any drop tower.

For those of you unaware of this project, Skyrise Miami is an upcoming entertainment center in Miami Florida that is currently under construction at the Bayside Marketplace. It was first proposed in 2013 and was recently approved for construction last December. It will be the tallest building in Miami and is scheduled to open in 2020, the same year that the Superbowl will come to the city.

In addition to SkyDrop, Skyrise Miami will feature a bungee jump experience, several observation decks, fine dining, a nightclub, a 4D motion simulator, and much more. It’s sure to be a prime location for thrill seekers and tourists in general. Whether or not this will open by 2020 is unknown, but unlike the long-awaited polercoaster, at least this project made it to the construction faze, so there’s a good chance it will end up opening.